A Converted Dragon
by SpicyDumpling
Summary: WIP. Hermione recalls when Draco Malfoy arrived on the doorstep of Grimmauld Place in Dumbledore's arms a week after his unsucessfull attempt to save Ron's life. Begins in Hogwarts, then continues as a long flashback.
1. Chapter 1

            Hermione looked up as she heard her name. "Hm?" She looked up from her latest book. Draco was smiling at her. "I asked if you would pass me the butter, Hermione. Please?" Hermione handed him the butter across the full plates of breakfast at the Gryffindor table. He looked at her for a moment and she put down the book. "Alright, alright, I'll eat something…" Draco smiled and reached over, holding her cheek in his right hand. "You're worrying too much about the N.E.W.T.'s." Hermione began to spread jam over a piece of toast. "I am not…all this trouble." She looked to her right, where Ron would have been sitting if he were still alive. She looked across the table at Harry. He and Draco still sat quite far apart; there was almost room for her between them. 

Then again, that's how things were shaping up these days, barely room for her between them. She tried to balance them both, but Harry was so upset at Ron's untimely death and Draco had changed almost overnight. After all, Draco had nearly been able to save Ron's life but then …Hermione sighed. The incident had only happened three month ago, and she had put off her studying for the N.E.W.T.'s for a month already what with…things.

She shook her head to get the memory out of her conscious, as if it would help in some way. Draco and Harry were watching her, and they exchanged glances, looking concerned. She smiled to herself and began to eat her toast. The boys relaxed, and continued to eat their breakfasts. It was so quiet these days in the Great Hall. Hermione still found it odd to see the Gryffindor lion crest on Draco's chest, strange to know he would be waiting for her at the table every morning.  

She still couldn't wrap her head around it. Draco had shown up one night, at Grimmauld Place (Harry now owned it and the rest of the adults had another secret place to live), unconscious and in the arms of Dumbledore. There were bruises all over his face and arms. Hermione had offered her bed so that he could rest at least for a few hours and let his wounds heal. Downstairs, Dumbledore had explained to them that before leaving for the summer of sixth year, Draco had gone to Professor Snape. He had not said much but he had indicated that his father had become too extreme in his views and that he was not safe in his own home. Snape had performed a charm that would transport Draco to Dumbledore's office should his father become violent. Snape and Dumbledore had waited the first few weeks of the summer, wondering when the boy would appear. After five weeks he materialized in the office, just as he had been when Dumbledore brought him to Grimmauld Place. They promised to take care of Lucius Malfoy when he showed up at Hogwarts, as they knew he would. Harry remained quiet on the subject, but he was quiet all the time since Ron had died only a few days ago.

Hermione remembered opening the door to her room, and seeing the pale boy lying on her bed. She sat on the floor by the bed, looking up at him, wondering what he had said to warrant such violence. "Did you tell him how you felt?" she wondered out loud. She looked at Draco, whose eyes were opening. She sat up, and leaned over him (and was surprised at herself for doing so) and told him not to move, not to speak. His right eye was almost swollen shut, but he opened them both anyway, and grabbed onto her arm with his hand. Hermione was shocked that he had that much strength. "Hermione…" he had said softly, looking into her eyes.  "No, you shouldn't-" but Draco interrupted her by shaking his head. He was more awake now, but the pain potion was making him slightly groggy. "Hermione, I…he…" he trailed off, and Hermione nodded. "Dumbledore told us. You argued with your father." Draco nodded, and began to lift himself up on his arms, and she moved back. "You shouldn't have argued with him." Draco shook his head and reached his arm out, brushing her hair with his hand.

"Couldn't help it. Threatened to hurt you." Hermione was shocked, but not by the threat of violence against her. "What do you mean?" Draco was fully upright now, and leaning against the wall. "Couldn't let him threaten you like that, Hermione." Hermione began to put it all together. She had suspected this before, but she had never given her theory any credence. But here he was, covered in bruises because of something he had said to defend her. 

Her eyes began to fill with tears. She wanted to scream at him, tell him what an idiot he was, and most of all she wanted this all to be over. She wanted not to have to worry about the safety of her family day and night, about Harry's mental state and Ron's recent death. The tears began to stream down her face silently; she hadn't been ready for this, not at all. Draco was looking upset now, and reached out for her hands. She gave them to him and he tried to pull her up onto the bed. She pulled her hands away quickly. "You're too weak…" 

She sat next to him, trying to get a grip on herself. Draco looked over at her, fully conscious now. "Please don't cry Hermione." She looked over at him, and began to explode. "Don't you dare call me that! You're not my friend, Malfoy. You don't know anything about me or what you've done to me, I hate you." The flood gates burst open and she began sobbing. What the hell was she doing here, sitting on a bed with Draco Malfoy, sobbing her heart out? And the stupid bastard was going to say it, she knew he would. And then her world would come tumbling down around her and she alone would have to put it back together. Again. Hell, she wasn't even fully done rebuilding it after Ron. And he was going to say it. Maybe he wouldn't be stupid enough, she hoped to herself. "I did it because I-" Hermione cut him off angrily, "-Don't you dare say it, Ron's dead and I haven't even had time to think! Maybe in a few months, maybe in a year but I can't hear that right now, I just can't!" She glared angrily at him through her tears and he looked taken aback. He had never seen her pushed to the brink, unless you counted the time she had smacked him across the face. "But...you know?"

 She wanted to hit him more than ever. "What do you think I am, an idiot? Of course I know I just never wanted to believe it!" Draco looked away, his chin becoming set and he swallowed. "You don't have to be so upset about it." She stood up and leant down to be face to face with him, and began whispering. "You used to make me cry at night. Out of nowhere you show up and try to save Ron, and when I had begun to have some faith in you, you disappear for a week and then you show up like this?"

Draco blinked a couple of times. "I'll give you some time. As much as you want. I don't want to hurt you anymore" Hermione stood up, shaking her head. She conjured herself a chair, table, and a set of potions ingredients. She began to make up a potion. "Take this forgetfulness potion. I'll pretend you've been asleep and that I've been up here reading. You'll remember in a few days, when I've had some time to think this through." Draco nodded, and held his hand for the vial. "I do, you know." She handed him the potion. "I had the sinking feeling, yes." Draco looked down again, even hurt. She'd never seen him look hurt before, and it actually made her feel guilty. She never liked to cause anyone pain, and the anger ebbed from her. "I'm sorry, Draco. I added some sleeping draught, so this will also make you sleep for a couple more hours." Draco nodded and drank from the potion. He lay down, and looked at her one last time. "I like it when you say my name like that." Hermione was confused for a moment and said "Like what?" Draco smiled as his eyes shut and he yawned. "Like you care…" Hermione nodded to herself. Had she said his name? She was so confused she couldn't even remember. She heard the door squeak and stood up abruptly.

 Harry had opened the door, his pale skin shining against the dark-stained wood. She stood up and looked at him, trying to wipe away remaining tears. Harry stayed with one hand on the door, holding onto it, looking almost ready to flee. "What did he say to you?" Hermione then knew that Harry must have heard her angry shouting in the next room, and blushed. "He…nothing, Harry. He was delirious from his pain potion, so I gave him a sleeping potion."

 Harry transfigured the chair into a sofa for them both, and she sat on it. He shut the door and sat next to her on the sofa, putting his arm around her shoulder, his cheek next to hers. "Don't lie to me Hermione. I always know when you're lying to me." He nuzzled her in the cheek and she smiled. "It's just like you thought, Harry, he…" Harry shook his head. She couldn't bring herself to say it. She had been attached to Ron and she felt…It was like when Cedric died. It was a childish attraction of Cho's fickle heart to Harry, but even so she had been torn between her dead crush and Harry who was alive and a good substitute for Cedric. It was almost funny; at least it would have been if it hadn't been so close to them all. Harry nodded, and hugged her, pulling her closer. "I guess I've got competition then?" Hermione looked sternly at Harry, "Harry, that's not remotely funny." _No, thought Harry, __it isn't._


	2. Chapter 2

It was later in the day, and Hermione had set to making dinner. She moved her wand quickly, sharply, and almost too much so. She was upset, and Harry could tell.  Draco would be waking up soon, and they would face each other for the first time since that fateful night that had killed Ron. Hermione tried to forget it as she finished baking the potatoes.  Harry looked over at her. "Draco will be waking up soon. You should make sure he's alright." She looked at him for a minute, analyzing his voice for signs of strain. They'd become so close since living together, but she just couldn't be attracted to him. It was too soon for her to deal with those kinds of feelings for anyone. She had so much to worry about. "Harry, would you get some meat and cheese out?" He nodded and watched her walk out of the room to climb the stairs.

 She passed the portrait of Sirius' mother and remembered how she had screamed when Sirius had hidden them here. The insults bounced off her by fifth year but she had never known what real racism was until she'd come into the magic world. Her parents were well-off white dentists and although her primary education had her mixed with people of all cultures, there had been no…she didn't know you could hate people for no reason.  She knew about oppression of peoples but she had never been able to imagine how they felt. Now however, she knew how it felt to be labeled, and tormented for something you never had a choice in. Jealousy for her talent fueled the Slytherins' taunts and the fact she had muggle parentage only made it worse.

 She finished the climb up the stairs and knocked on the second door on the left. "Remus, dinner's ready." He opened the door and smiled at her. He leant closer to her and whispered. "He's been saying your name in his sleep, you know. I don't want to upset you further Hermione, I just think you need to know. Don't worry. You'll get there in your own time." She nodded, feeling the painful tug on her heartstrings. _Not now, she thought. _I just want some time to think. Some time alone_. _

She moved to the third room on the left and opened the door. Draco was sitting up, dressed in black corduroy pants and a dark green v-neck shirt. It was so weird to see him in normal clothes, too bad he hadn't yet been able to rid himself of the characteristic Slytherin green and black. He looked so much softer around the edges, it was very disconcerting. "You're staring, Hermione." She blushed a little and cleared her throat. "Dinner's nearly ready. Do you want some?" Draco nodded, and stood up. "It was odd to see you in mu-, normal clothes at first, too." Hermione looked down at herself, wondering what she had selected to wear this morning. It was a clingy blue long sleeved shirt and soft, dark jeans. She had taken to wearing things that showed off her body a little more since she had accepted her figure. Of course she hadn't even considered that Draco would be showing up otherwise she might have made the attempt to dress more conservatively. 

Then again why should she? Remus had told her it was nice to see her dressing more confidently and Harry had agreed. She nodded "I suppose you would be. Anyway, are you coming?" Draco started towards the door. Hermione turned around and began to walk out when she felt something brush her hand. It was Draco, his hand outstretched slightly. Hermione could feel his warm body close behind her and the pulling on her heartstrings again. It hurt her so much she wanted to cry out, but instead she let Draco's hand encircle hers before slipping out of his grip and going quickly down the stairs. Draco followed behind, his heart lifted slightly. She had let him hold her hand. And okay, they were seventeen now and a bit past hand-holding but it was a start. He turned around the corner and saw a painting covered with a red curtain. He peeked behind the curtain and screams rent the air throughout the house. A woman who looked familiar was screaming all kinds of things like his father had. He hastily covered the painting back over but the screaming continued. Remus had come around the corner and put a silencing spell on the painting. 

"Sorry, um…" Remus smiled. "Call me Remus, we're all friends here. I expect she looks familiar?" Draco nodded. "I've seen her in pictures with my grandmother, I think." Remus nodded. "This house belonged to Sirius Black. That painting is of his mother. I take it your families were friendly up to a point." Draco shook his head. "Unfortunately." Remus chuckled, "That was exactly how Sirius felt." "Why is she still up?" "We haven't been able to undo the un-stickable sticking charm. We assume she used some kind of dark version of the spell." Draco looked at the painting and muttered a few words. The painting fell down from the wall, Sirius' grandmother landing face down. Remus raised his eyebrows. "We'll see what Harry wants done with that. He owns the house now, by the way." Draco nodded. "I thought so, although I thought it might belong to you." He smiled. "Alas no, but Harry is kind enough to offer me a place to stay while Hermione spends any extra time she has working on a cure for my…condition." Draco smiled. She was just so brilliant; she took on things so big and managed to tackle them. "I moved your things into the guest room while you were asleep. It's the room across the hall from Hermione's," Lupin said. "Thank you," Draco replied, starting to smell the dinner. 

They walked together into the kitchen and Lupin smiled at Harry. "Draco got Sirius' mother down, Harry. Shall I throw her away?" Harry looked pleased. "You mean I don't have to listen to that crazy old bitch anymore?" Lupin chuckled. "Yes Harry, she's off the wall." Harry smiled at Draco, "Thanks, Draco." He nodded awkwardly back at him. Harry indicated a chair for Draco. Hermione sat next to Lupin across from Draco, and she smiled at him. Plates filled with salad, baked potatoes, and assorted meats were spread on the table. It was not at all what Draco was used to eating, and he waited until all the others had filled their plated to load his own with potato, meat, and a little salad. They began to eat, and Draco watched Harry. 

"Harry?" he asked. "Yes?" Draco began to blush slightly, turning pink. "I want to thank you for letting me stay here. I don't know where else I would go, or what kind of state I'd be in if you hadn't taken me in." Harry was quiet for a few moments and their eyes locked. Harry swallowed his salad and nodded. "You tried to save Ron's life and I don't pay anything for this house. It's the least I can do." Hermione's eyes were tearing up, and Draco watched Harry put his hand on hers. It was obvious how much he cared about her. Harry looked at Hermione and continued. "Because of you Ron died surrounded by those who loved him. There's nothing that can bring him back, but at least we got to say goodbye." Hermione was using her napkin to wipe her eyes, and Remus was looking concernedly at her. "I know Ron was suspicious of you when you offered to spy for the Order, and so was I. But before he died he told me that he knew now that you weren't as bad as he thought." Draco felt the tears forming in his eyes, and blinked them away. "Thanks Harry. I was such a shit before, and there is no excuse for that. I'm just glad…"

 Remus interrupted "We're all glad you're here now Draco. Let's not dwell on the past, now. We need to move on, and dinner's getting cold." Hermione chuckled, wiping the last of her tears away. She looked at Draco. "It's probably not what you're used to at all." Draco smiled, shaking his head. "The last year I have only been allowed to eat the scraps from the kitchen. When I wasn't in school, I was locked in my room without my wand or any form of communication. This is really a pleasant change." Hermione looked at him, her eyes widened slightly. "You did that for us?" Draco nodded. "I did it for myself too." Harry smiled. "That sounds like me at the Dursley's." "Is it true they locked you in the cupboard under the stairs?" "Oh yeah, for the first eleven years. Then after they found out about Hogwarts, they gave me the spare room. But they did let me leave the house, and gave me three meals a day. Most of the time…"      

Hermione was glad to see that in his suffering Draco could connect with Harry. Maybe in time things could drift back to normalcy. Dinner was finished in silence, everyone mostly thinking to themselves. Hermione cleared away the plates and Lupin lead Draco up to his room. When they were gone Hermione looked at Harry. "Why did you lie to him Harry?" Harry looked up from scraping the plates into the bin. "Even if Ron didn't say it, I saw it in his mind. He didn't have time, but I know he thought it. And Draco needs encouragement, Hermione, he needs to be accepted." Hermione nodded. She supposed he was right. She wiped her hands on a towel and head into the living room to check in with her parents. 


End file.
